


Returning the Favor

by peacefulboo



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Remix Redux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-05-05
Packaged: 2018-01-22 00:26:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1569260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacefulboo/pseuds/peacefulboo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy is just returning the favor. A Remix Redux fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Returning the Favor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [htbthomas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/htbthomas/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Rescue](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1359253) by [htbthomas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/htbthomas/pseuds/htbthomas). 



They've been searching for Oliver for three days. Sara is all fury. She's beat up enough goons to put the fear of God in many of Roy's old friends. It's not very effective at finding Oliver. Felicity is terrified but dogged, Roy's pretty sure she hasn't slept since they realized Oliver went missing. Diggle is grimly determined and seems to be running on coffee and catnaps. His friends at A.R.G.U.S. are either at a loss as well, or uninterested in helping. Either way, Diggle is ever the steady, voice of reason. Not that anyone’s listening.

Roy is worried about how this will effect Thea more than anything else. So far they've been able to explain away Oliver's absence to the world at large, but that's not going to last for long.  
For once, it's Roy's resources that give them the lead they need. He hasn't been as involved in the black market much lately, but he still has some contacts that owe him a favor or two.

Finding and saving The Arrow is hardly a priority for most of the Glades' criminals so it's slow going. In the end it's the women of the underground that give them their break. Between The Canary and The Arrow, they've been helped more than hurt over the last few months and a few of them are brave enough to whisper what they know.

Roy is smart enough to know that it's stupid of them. Dangerous. He does his best to honor their bravery by shielding them as much as he can.  
Sin is the one who gets the last piece they need.

“They got cocky. One of the guards told his girl that he's got in some good hits at The Hood. The guard’s a dick to his girl, though.” Sin gives Roy and Sara the address of the building that they're supposedly holding Oliver.

It's easy enough to get into the building but they meet trouble quickly. Sara and Diggle stay to take down the guards while Roy moves to find Oliver. It's a big place, more high tech than they are expecting but now that they know where he is Felicity is able to take bypass the jammers they've had blocking Oliver's tracking signal.

“He’s within 20 feet of you, Roy. Do you see him?” Felicity's voice is tight and steady, belying the excitement he knows she must be feeling. As he looks at all the doors in front of him, he can feel his frustration turn into a rage that he forces himself to tamp down. It'll do him no good right now. It'll do Oliver no good right now. 

He talks her through what he sees and nods his head when she manages to unlock all the doors in front of him. He opens them one by one, quickly, growing more frustrated as room after room comes up with out Oliver.

He bites his tongue when Felicity tells him that he's going to have company soon, only barking out a request for her to stall them some how. His frustration grows as he opens a door to a lab, realizing that Oliver isn't there either.

His heart is pounding and his rage is building. He uses his heartbeat to focus, only to realize, no. That's not his heart beat he's hearing.

Roy smiles as he looks down at the floor. He lets the rage fill him as he pounds the floor, smashing a hole big enough to look down into the basement below.

“I got him.”

Getting him out is a little more difficult. Oliver has enough strength to reach up for Roy to pull him through the hole, but that's about it. He's been beaten and starved and Roy cringes when he stifles a shout when he's yanked out of the hole.

“We've gotta get out of here,” he tells Oliver. He doesn't stop to think, he just throws Oliver over his shoulder and makes his way out of the window of the lab. He blocks out the groans that he lets out, and hopes that he isn't doing any permanent damage.

They make it back to the lair just before Sara and Diggle. John's been shot in the calf and Sara's got a gnarly gash on her forehead but doesn't let that stop her as she rushes toward the table that Oliver's laid out on. She gets to work assessing the damage immediately while Felicity looks at Diggle's leg.

“Fuck. They roughed him up good.”

In the end they choose to take him to the hospital. There's too much damage to explain away and the healing will take too long and be too noticeable for Oliver the CEO to get away with not going to a hospital.

Roy's just glad that Oliver's unconscious when they make the call. They don't need that fight right now.

***

Oliver's recovery is slower than expected. He got royally fucked up, including a punctured lung from a cracked rib that Roy is pretty sure he caused during transport. Roy sometimes goes with Thea to visit him in the hospital, but he kind of hates it. It makes his skin itch and it feels like he's lying to Thea even more. Probably because he is.

“I know you hate it here.”

“It's okay. You're here, so I'm good.” He holds her hand in his as they sit next to Oliver's bed. It's kind of boring but she's with him so he's happy enough.

She gets a call about the club and steps out for second. If sitting next to Oliver's bed while he's sleeping is awkward with Thea next to him, it's hella awkward when he's there by himself.

“Thank you.” He's startled by Oliver's words. He didn't notice him waking.

“Dude. I'm the one who collapsed your lung. Sorry about that.”

Oliver shakes his head slightly, his eyes squinting slightly in pain. “You came and got me.”

“Yeah. Thea would be sad if you died.” He states, only half joking.

“Sure.” Oliver gives him the out. They both know that Thea wouldn't be the only one who was sad.

“Besides, I figure now we're even.” Roy hates being in anyone's debt. Especially someone like Queen. Now they've saved each other's lives. And done each other damage. He doubts they'll stay even for long, but for now he can breathe easy knowing they're on an even playing field.

“Yeah,” is all Oliver says before Thea comes back into the room, her whole face lighting up when she sees her brother is awake.

And while Roy appreciates the thanks from Oliver, Thea's smile is all he needs to know he'd risk everything over and over for this man.


End file.
